Group communication and employee turnover: How coworkers encourage peers to voluntarily exit

Abstract

When employees are assigned to work together, the coworker relationship may not always prove to be “a match made in heaven.” From time‐to‐time, coworkers may intentionally try to terminate some of these organizationally sanctioned relationships. This typology of 12 message‐based and seven behavior‐based strategies clearly suggest that coworkers do try to disengage work relationships by encouraging peer exit. This study suggest that the utilization of these strategies by coworkers may motivate turnover. Therefore, studying the particular messages shared and behaviors performed in workgroups may provide greater insight into the relationship between turnover and group communication.